Stockard Maladene
Stockard Maladene was a Rally for Orion politician who served as the Chancellor of Orion from 47 to 52. She previously served in the third Wheeler government and the first Shanor government as the National Minister for Labor from 25 to 31, and as the Premier of Saler River Province from 36 to 47. Minister for Labor After the Orion national election, 25 A.R., the re-elected Chancellor Stone Wheeler began her third government by reshuffling her cabinet. Landrieu Seuele, the incumbent National Minister for Labor, was named National Minister for Justice, creating a vacancy at Labor. Seuele recommended that Maladene, her chief of staff, succeed her as Minister, a move that Stone Wheeler approved despite Maladene's relative youth and inexperience. As Minister, Maladene focused her energy on supporting unionization efforts among Saler River salt miners, who faced fierce resistance from the mining companies. Because the mining companies were contributors to the Rally for Orion, the Chancellor's office put some light pressure on Maladene to moderate her tone, which she refused to do. With the support from Maladene, who threatened to impose additional labor restrictions on the mining companies if they recognize the miners' unions, the miners gained leverage and forced the mining companies to the table. Maladene depoliticized the Ministry by creating the National Dispute Resolution Council, an independent adjudicatory agency meant to resolve labor disputes between workers and employers. Some large employers, who had hoped to elect more laissez-faire governments to relax restrictions in the future, challenged the constitutionality of the Council. In Associated Mining v. Maladene, the National Court of Orion upheld Maladene's authority to create the Council, though struck unconstitutional provisions in the Council's enabling legislation that eliminated the ability of employers to appeal decisions to the courts. Previously unknown to voters outside of her constituency of Salt City Centre, Maladene's public stance in support of the country's nascent labor movement made her a household name in Saler River Province's mining communities. The Rally's provincial party, the Rally for Saler River, requested that she stand for their leadership and become Premier, but Maladene refused to do so. After the Rally for Orion leadership spill, 28 A.R. and the Orion national election, 28 A.R., which elevated Charron Shanor to the Chancellorship, Maladene was retained at Labor. Following the party's defeat in Orion national election, 31 A.R., Maladene was named by Shanor, the Leader of the Opposition, as the Shadow Minister for Labor. Maladene remained publicly neutral during the Rally for Orion leadership spill, 34 A.R., but privately voted for Racicot Marshall. Hearing rumors of another bid by Shanor for the leadership and wishing to avoid the consequences of her vote for Marshall, Maladene resigned from both the Shadow government and the National Assembly, instead finally making a bid for leadership at the provincial party. Premier of Saler River Maladene fielded repeated calls from the Rally for Saler River to stand for party leadership, but repeatedly turned down those offers until 36 A.R. The Rally had suffered an unexpected blow in the 33 A.R. elections when its government was defeated in a landslide and lost out on official opposition status to the provincial-level Social Movement. Several months before the 36 A.R. elections, Maladene announced that she would stand for the party's leadership, which she won unanimously. Maladene waged a fierce campaign against the provincial-level Coalition for the Republic, and her longstanding popularity with union households led to the Rally winning a record majority in the Saler River Provincial Assembly. As Premier, Maladene brought a number of mining companies under state control as the Saler River salt mining boom began to fade, and pushed for additional mining projects along the River. As old mines were tapped out, she cleaned them up, restored the local ecosystems, and transitioned them into state parks, hoping to put unemployed miners to work in a new tourism industry. In the northern, mountainous part of the province, she helped develop several small towns into destination ski resorts in direct competition with Mount Heller Province. She aggressively supported additional energy production projects, and made substantial investments into wind and solar power. Despite inheriting a shrinking population and a declining economy, she returned the province around, achieving record-breaking growth in the province through large state-funded projects. As Marshall and Racicot continued battling each other on the national stage, Maladene stayed out of the way, refusing to endorse or support any challenge to either's leadership. Though Marshall offered Maladene the Vice-Chancellorship after the Orion national election, 37 A.R., Maladene refused. She refused a similar request by Shanor to join her second government as Minister for Justice following the Rally for Orion leadership spill, 39 A.R.. Chancellor of Orion In 47 A.R., after consistent election losses by both Marshall and Shanor, Rally party officials invited Maladene to Foveaux, where they officially requested that she challenge Marshall for the leadership and end the feud between the two leaders. Despite initially refusing the offer, Maladene eventually relented. Maladene, who had resigned from the National Assembly a decade prior, plotted a dramatic return to the national stage. She convinced Aguillon Dubreuil, her successor from Salt City Centre, to stand for the leadership of the provincial party and to resign from the National Assembly, triggering a vacancy. Maladene was subsequently appointed by the local party to fill Dubreuil's seat, riggering national speculation that she was planning to stand for the national party leadership. She subsequently announced her campaign, and party leaders met with Marshall and Shanor privately to pressure them to stand down, which they reluctantly did. As the general election campaign began, Maladene delighted in poking at Thatcher Cooley, the Chancellor. Cooley had proved relatively hapless and bumbling as Chancellor, and Maladene gleefully campaigned on what she started calling the "Saler Miracle." Maladene proved popular with national voters, defeating Cooley in the preferred party vote, 58-42, and the party did well, gaining several points since the previous election and gaining thirty-something seats, giving it a 218-147 majority. Her popularity continued as Chancellor, and private polling indicated that the party could expand its parliamentary majority even more, she called early elections. However, as the general election began, Bushwick Salts, the last big mining company in business in Saler River, declared bankruptcy. A subsequent government investigation found that Bushwick had falsified its financial records for years, and criminal charges were filed against the executives. Maladene's National Minister for Finance, whom she had recruited directly from Bushwick, was criminally implicated. The political damage was catastrophic, with the party quickly losing ground in polling and falling behind the Coalition, led by Bonner Holt. Maladene's damage control helped considerably. She publicly fired her Finance Minister and appointed an independent counsel to investigate the entire Ministry and directed Jennings Moynihan, the National Minister for Labor and also from Saler River, to oversee the nationalization of Bushwick to keep the miners employed and to contain the economic damage. By the time that election day approached, the party had been mostly stabilized, and appeared headed to a narrowed, but solid, majority. On election day, however, local party leaders in Saler River and Driscoll heard of increased energy for The Onward Nation, a far-right party pushing economic nationalism and anti-Cheissian sentiment. As election results came in, the Rally's Members in both provinces were largely wiped out by The Onward Nation, even as the party gained seats elsewhere. Most concerningly, The Onward Nation jumped to winning nearly 13% of the national vote, up from 7.5% just two years earlier, and won nearly as many constituencies as the Rally, Coalition, and Social Movement did nationwide. Though Maladene beat Holt 56-44 in the two-party preferred vote nationally, the party's majority was uncertain at the end of the night. It would take several days for several close races, including Maladene's, to be called and for the national proportional vote Members to be assigned, during which time Maladene faced public calls to resign from party leadership. It was only once the National Alliance announced that it wouldn't join with The Onward Nation in any government -- and that it would direct its Members to vote for Maladene rather than allowing The Onward Nation to make gains in a subsequent election -- that Maladene was guaranteed re-election. Maladene began planning for the next election almost immediately, and was aided and abetted by Holt, who planned a closer association with The Onward Nation and who meddled in the National Alliance to try to force a leadership spill to get a leader with warmer feelings to joining a big coalition government with all three parties. The Chancellor stopped a bubbling party revolt from happening through sheer force: Though Moynihan had been called to challenge Maladene for the leadership, she very pointedly refused to do so, and Maladene forced the rest of her cabinet to follow in Moynihan's footsteps and publicly announce that they would make no challenge. She then called a leadership spill herself mere days after her investiture, all but daring someone to run against her, but no one did. In the next election, Maladene campaigned heavily against The Onward Nation. She publicly called on Holt to disavow any plans to form a government with the far-right party, which Maladene knew that Holt wouldn't do. After a backbencher Member referred to "The Onward Coalition" in a media interview, she delighted in using the term herself. As the election approached, Maladene held patriotic, unifying rallies all around the country and pushed economic policies to ensure full employment. The result was disastrous for the Coalition, which barely maintained official opposition status. Many of the party's safe seats in wealthy, suburban areas punished the Coalition for its alliance with The Onward Nation by ditching their Coalition Members for National Alliance candidates instead. The Rally, meanwhile, won back many of its working class constituencies from The Onward Nation, allowing it to win back its majority. And Holt was walloped in the two-party preferred vote, losing to Maladene 60-40. After the election, Holt faced a vote of no confidence and was defeated. However, the Rally's desire to regain its majority had merely delayed the intra-party rebellion that began three years prior, and with the majority assured once again, some of the party's Members made moves against Maladene. After winning three elections in a row for a previously-beleaguered party, Maladene felt no sense of appreciation from her party's dissidents, and triggered a leadership spill, which resulted in Vice-Chancellor Moynihan winning unanimously. Life after the Chancellorship Maladene kept her seat in the National Assembly, and continued to be re-elected until she declined to run for re-election in Orion national election, 61 A.R. She served as Moynihan's closest advisor and de facto chief of staff, and was offered a Cabinet post of her choosing after the party regained its majority, which she declined.